Bluegrass winter festival brings ‘acoustic country’ lineup this weekend

An undated promotional photo for the Lonesome Town Painters, a bluegrass band playing the RiverCity Bluegrass Festival. (Courtesy: Bluegrass North)

Organizers of the RiverCity Bluegrass Festival announced its lineup of musicians for the festival this weekend.

Karen Trace, one of the organizers of the event, said the winter festival is a small departure from other bluegrass festivals.

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“We need a wintertime festival, because we’re so jammed up with summer festivals already.” Trace told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

Trace described bluegrass music as having an uptempo “acoustic country” sound, meaning the songs are played quite fast.

Some of the artists playing the festival are Bill Munroe, The Slocan Ramblers (former jazz musicians turned country), Veranda, who Trace described as “their own kind of ‘joie de vivre’ Montreal-style bluegrass,” and headliner act The Kody Norris Show from Tennessee.

Trace said the festival offers plenty of workshops, including a Kid Fiddle Academy for musicians aged four to 12, a high-level workshop where experienced musicians can pick up a few new tricks and a Slow Pitch Jam Session for beginners, both of which are hosted by RiverCity performers.

The RiverCity Bluegrass Festival begins Friday and runs until Sunday at the Edmonton Inn and Conference Centre.

Full weekend passes and single day passes are available for purchase.

Organizers say your receipt will act as your tickets to the festival – according to the festival website, no other tickets will be mailed or emailed.

For more information about the festival including schedule, performance line-up and workshop registration, visit the Bluegrass North website.